THE surge in Iraq has been one of the most impressive military accomplishments in recent years. It has been so successful that the emerging consensus is that what may now be needed in Afghanistan is a similar surge of American forces. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on his intention to do so, as did his former opponent, John McCain. As one who is occasionally — and incorrectly — portrayed as an opponent of the surge in Iraq, I believe that while the surge has been effective in Iraq, we must also recognize the conditions that made it successful. President Bush’s bold...

CORNWALLIS, Canada, Nov. 20, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to encourage a more regional approach to the mission in Afghanistan’s Regional Command South during a two-day meeting of defense ministers from nations contributing the lion’s share of forces there. The meeting, at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, will provide an opportunity for the eight ministers to focus on the situation in Regional Command South and their strategy for stabilizing that volatile area, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters yesterday. In addition to the United States and Canada, the participants represent Australia, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands,...

Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates By: Jen DiMascio November 11, 2008 01:57 PM EST Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia,...

Not so Changey. President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party… “He’s going to take a very centrist approach to these issues,” said Roger Cressey, a former counterterrorism official in the Clinton and Bush administrations. “Whenever an administration swings too far on the spectrum left or right, we end up getting ourselves in big trouble.”… [H]e more recently voted for a White House-backed law to expand eavesdropping powers for the National Security Agency. Mr. Obama said he opposed providing legal...

Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia, Iran and Syria – without the direct link to Bush’s policies. “That would be an unmistakable...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Sunday expressed openness to having Republicans appointed in the next Cabinet and keeping Defense Sec. Robert Gates in his official capacity. The Democratic leader also pledged bipartisanship in the next Congress, saying election victories were not a "mandate for the Democratic Party" but a call to end divisive politics. ************* "I think we need a good transition there," the Senate leader said. "I am confident that Senator Obama has somebody in mind for secretary of defense but Gates -- you know, it's interesting, my conversation with Secretary Gates, he's...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2008 – Amid an 80-percent drop in violence and with further withdrawals of U.S. forces in sight, the coalition in Iraq has reached the “endgame,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. “I believe we have now entered that endgame – and our decisions today and in the months ahead will be critical to regional stability and our national security interests for years to come,” he told the Senate Armed Service Committee during a hearing on Iraq and Afghanistan. Highlighting success in Iraq are reductions in U.S. casualties and overall violence, and the handover of...

LONDON, Sept. 18, 2008 – The situation in Afghanistan is complicated, and the United States and its NATO allies and other partners continually assess the strategy in the country, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates, in London for a NATO meeting, spoke to British and American reporters. He arrived here yesterday after visits to Afghanistan and Iraq. Gates called the situation in Afghanistan dynamic and complicated. He said that while the northern and western parts of the country pose no significant challenges, the American-led Regional Command East area was under control a year ago, but has seen a...

U.S.' Gates scoffs at Russian warnings to Poland Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:11pm BST By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon chief Robert Gates dismissed as "empty rhetoric" on Sunday Russian warnings that Moscow would target Poland for a possible military strike because Warsaw agreed to host part of a U.S. missile shield. "Russia is not going to launch nuclear missiles at anybody," Defense Secretary Gates said on ABC News' "This Week." "The Poles know that. We know it." Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, told Interfax on Friday that Russian military doctrine would allow for...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 – With their invasion of Georgia, the Russians are sending a message not only to neighbors, but also to the world, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Georgia, a nation of 5 million in the Caucasus region, has allied itself with the West and is seeking membership in NATO. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are provinces that are seeking to break away from Georgia and ally with Russia. Gates noted that, like clockwork, there have been exchanges of gunfire between Georgian and South Ossetian troops every August. “And this year, it escalated very quickly,” he...

US defence chief Robert Gates has said he sees no prospect of using US military force in Georgia, following its week-long conflict with Russia. But he warned that US-Russia relations could be adversely affected for years as a result of Moscow's actions. (snip) Despite concerns that Moscow may not be keen quickly to leave Georgian territory, Mr Gates said the Russians did seem to be pulling back. "They appear to be withdrawing their forces back towards Abkhazia and to the zone of conflict... towards South Ossetia," he said.

In defiance of traditional party labels, Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, may ask the defence secretary of President George W Bush to stay on if he wins the White House. Obama’s top foreign policy and national security advisers are pressing the case for keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon after he won widespread praise for his performance. The move would be in keeping with Obama’s desire to appoint a cabinet of all the talents. After appealing for unity with former rival Hillary Clinton and her supporters and big donors last week, Obama, 46, is turning his attention to wooing...

Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln. He did so when he announced his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where both he and Lincoln served in the legislature. "The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible," Obama said. "He tells us that there is power in words ... He tells us that there is power in hope." That was, well, audacious, to say the least — and the comparisons have continued, on issues large and small. But the most important similarity, in Obama's mind, is...

In the wake of the U.S. Air Force leadership shake up, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is directing the service to field six more Predator combat air patrols (CAPs), as well as more Reapers to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The order comes shortly after Gates’ first briefing from the new Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force June 6. He set up the task force in April, explaining during a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting warfighting support from institutional military — namely, the Air Force — was “like pulling teeth.” A lack of support for...

The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath of the United States -- and the crew didn't know the weapons...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and fellow NATO defense ministers will discuss alliance operations in Afghanistan, the alliance missile defense program, and transition plans for Kosovo during a two-day ministerial beginning here today. The ministers will focus on how NATO nations are moving toward implementing decisions the member nations’ heads of state reached at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest, Romania, a senior defense official speaking on background told reporters traveling with Gates. Afghanistan will dominate much of the conference, the official said. Gates will participate in meetings centered on NATO’s Regional Command South...

Behind Gates' Decision to Fire Up the Air Force by Austin Bay The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath...

Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up by Robert Maginnis Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force’s top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates’ real objective is to radically change the service’s culture. Gates forced Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to resign following the release of a nuclear investigation which reported a “…pattern of poor performance.” That report proved a tipping point for Gates, whose grievances with...

Nuclear arms mistakes were reason for dismissals, but deeper divide over service's mission was at play, officers and analysts say. By Bob DeansWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, June 07, 2008 WASHINGTON — In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., to address an elite group of majors and colonels attending the Air War College in preparation for promotions to command positions. For months, Gates had been at odds with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, over how to increase the use of unmanned aerial...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – America needs dedicated public servants now more than ever, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told graduates at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Va., today. Gates congratulated the 246 graduates of the state military college on their accomplishments and said the institute has taught them lessons on the importance of public service and duty to their fellow citizens. “For generations, VMI has graduated young people ready to raise their right hands and defend their homeland,” the secretary said. “This is something to be grateful for in any time period, but never more so than in...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The Defense Department needs to worry more about what warfighters need right now than what they may need down the road, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last night. In a speech to the Business Executives for National Security group, Gates said he will work for the remainder of his time in office to ensure the department fulfills its “sacred obligation” to support U.S. servicemembers now fighting on the front lines. This means doing all that is needed to “see that they are successful on the battlefield and properly cared for at home,” Gates...

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 – Vice President Richard B. Cheney thanked recruits and sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., today for choosing to serve a cause greater than themselves in the struggle against terrorism. Cheney talked with about 4,000 recruits and sailors at the center outside Chicago, where his own father trained for his Navy service during World War II. The vice president compared today’s military members who, like their World War II predecessors, put their own interests aside to serve “when the country needed you most.” “Your presence at Great Lakes proves that you understand the core Navy...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2008 – U.S. troops in Iraq will go down in military history as purveyors of democracy in the region, Vice President Richard B. Cheney told a cheering crowd today at Fort Hood, Texas. “Because of you, the people of Iraq can see a better day ahead,” he said. Before addressing 1st Cavalry Division soldiers and their families, Cheney helped uncase the colors of the Army’s 3rd Corps, which recently turned over control of Multinational Corps Iraq to 18th Airborne Corps. “On the ground in Iraq in all of 2007, you amassed a superb record,” Cheney told...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States is prepared to share with China some of the information it has about this week's U.S. satellite shootdown. His comments came after Beijing complained the missile strike could cause harm to outer space security and some countries. Gates told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that the United States is prepared to share whatever it can "appropriately" share with China. The Pentagon said earlier that debris from the obliterated satellite is being tracked over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but appears to be too small to cause damage on...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – The anticipated landing tomorrow of the space shuttle Atlantis will open the window of opportunity for the U.S. military to shoot down a dying intelligence satellite headed toward Earth, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. President Bush has authorized Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to give the shoot-down order, and the secretary received a briefing on the plan today, Morrell said. The secretary is prepared to make that call from the road, if necessary, during his nine-day, around-the-world trip that begins tomorrow, he said. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’ll probably recommend a pause for evaluation and assessment in Iraq before further troop reductions when the last surge brigade leaves in July. Gates spoke following a two-hour meeting with Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. “I think the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. The secretary did not speculate on how long the pause would be. Last month, Petraeus recommended a pause in redeployment from Iraq after...

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10, 2008 – The war on terror in Afghanistan is Europe’s war, too, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. During a speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Gates spoke directly to Europeans about the dangers al Qaeda and other jihadist groups pose to them. “The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real, and it is not going away,” Gates said. Gates said that while European government leaders understand the threats, public support in Europe for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is weak because many people on the continent don’t connect the...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today and immediately went into meetings with senior Iraqi officials. The secretary arrived after a four-hour flight from Munich. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, met Gates and escorted the secretary to a working dinner with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talibani and other senior officials. While en route to Baghdad, Gates told reporters traveling with him that he planned to congratulate the Iraqi leaders on their recent governmental progress. Gates said Iraqi lawmakers have been “energized” lately, passing a justice law...

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb. 7, 2008 – Pakistan only recently has realized that terrorists on its border with Afghanistan pose a significant threat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during a news conference here today. Gates is participating in informal NATO defense ministerial meetings. While the ministers did not specifically discuss the situation in Pakistan, Afghanistan is a major item on the agenda, and reporters asked the secretary about the unrest in Pakistan. “It’s only been in the last few months, in my opinion, that Pakistan has come to realize that the situation along the border with Afghanistan … potentially represents...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2008 – Though many of its nations have been fighting hard in Afghanistan, action is needed to prevent NATO from becoming a two-tiered alliance in which some countries contribute military forces and some do not, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today at a congressional hearing. Many European nations do not understand the importance of the fight in Afghanistan to their own security, or that NATO’s response to the situation says a lot about the future of the alliance itself, Gates said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. Gates and other leaders have expressed...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss the need for more NATO forces in Afghanistan when he attends a defense ministers meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, later this week, a senior Defense Department official said here today. The 26 NATO-affiliated defense ministers are expected to discuss the alliance’s mission in Kosovo, European missile defense, relations with Russia and the war in Afghanistan during informal meetings held Feb. 7-8, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference. In Vilnius, Gates “will take the opportunity to personally explain to his NATO colleagues why he is...

I admire Donald Rumsfeld. The former two-time Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff and Congressman is also a former naval aviator and a very successful private sector executive. Rumsfeld's life has been defined by public service of the highest sort. His leadership in the war, from the moment he went towards the crash site on 9/11, was defined by a relentless focus on the enemy, a focus so extraordinary that it made him a political liability and a target for every grouser inside the Pentagon and every critic of the war--for whatever reason-- outside of the building. His...

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was unfased when he met U2 rock star Bono - as he had no idea who he was. The With Or Without You star met the politician at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Thursday (24Jan08), as part of his efforts to persuade world leaders to increase aid to developing nations. The U2 frontman and humanitarian has already pressed French president Nicolas Sarkozy to stick to plans to raise development assistance to poorer countries, particularly those in Africa, and he continued his campaign with a low-key meeting with Gates. But the 64-year-old admits he was...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2008 – U.S. defense officials were very disturbed by the actions of Iranian attack boats in the Straits of Hormuz on Jan. 6, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today, and he dismissed Iranian charges that U.S. officials doctored a videotape to make the Iranians look bad. The five Iranian boats “buzzed” three U.S. Navy warships transiting the straits into the Persian Gulf. The boats approached within 500 yards of the ships and appeared to drop boxes into the water in the path of the U.S. ships. Officials released a video showing the boats and recordings...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2008 – The Iraqi military has played a crucial and indispensible role in building the new security environment in the country, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates (left) reacts to a comment from the press during a joint news conference with Iraqi Minister of Defense Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji at the Pentagon, Jan. 10, 2008. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, USAF (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates spoke during a joint news conference with Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji. The minister met with Gates to discuss laying...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Jan. 8, 2008 – Sgt. Kevin Knight has been a Marine for four years. He has deployed three times to Iraq. The first was in 2004, when he was just out of his infantry training. He returned from his most recent deployment in November. With their commanders ushered from the room, Knight and about 50 other Marines fresh from deployment were able to sit across the table from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates here yesterday to ask straight questions and get straight answers on whatever was on their minds. Gates met with troops on Navy and Marine...

The holidays offer a special time to remember our many blessings as Americans – perhaps chief among them are the dedicated Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who protect our nation. Since assuming this post a year ago, I have been awed and humbled by our men and women in uniform who are carving for themselves a noble place in American history. We began the year by deploying tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq as part of a concerted civil-military effort. Violence has declined sharply, and former enemy strongholds are being transformed into communities of hope and possibility. While...

MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 6, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the broad perspectives he’s received in Iraq over the last two days have convinced him Iraq is on the right track and that Iraqi leaders understand they need to move more quickly to keep up with security gains. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates greets local leaders in Mosul, Iraq, during a trip to Iraq's third-largest city, Dec. 5, 2007. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, USAF (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates today wrapped up a whirlwind visit to Iraq, where he met with Iraqi government...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 5, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates talked with Iraqi leaders and U.S. commanders here today to explore ways to maintain momentum built in recent months and continue to build on it. Gates met with Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji and U.S. commanders. Here on his sixth visit as defense secretary, Gates noted vast security improvements. During a joint news conference with Mufriji, Gates cited “recent months of dramatic change in the security situation across the nation, a decline in violence to levels not seen since the Samarra mosque...

Excerpt - MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday to assess the progress that has been made in recent months since the buildup of U.S. forces began to take hold and reduce violence in some parts of the country. Making his sixth trip to the battlefront in a year, Gates planned to talk to Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ~ snip ~

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today pointed to the new national intelligence estimate as evidence that non-military means are the best way for the United States to deal with Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Responding to a reporter’s query during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai here, Gates said the estimate, released yesterday, also underscores the need for the international community to continue pressuring Iran not to restart its nuclear weapons program. “If anything, the new national estimate validates the administration’s strategy of bringing diplomatic and economic pressures to bear on...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 – A local Boy Scouts of America organization recognized Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for his lifelong devotion to scouting during an award ceremony here yesterday. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates thanks members of the Boy Scouts of America National Capital Area Council after receiving the organization’s Citizen of the Year award at their annual dinner in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2007. Photo by Cherie A. Thurlby (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates received the “Citizen of the Year” award, bestowed annually by the National Capital Area Council. Since 1968, the council has recognized...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that unless Congress passes funding for the Iraq war within days, he will direct the Army and Marine Corps to begin developing plans to lay off employees and terminate contracts early next year. Gates, who met with members of Congress on Wednesday, said that he does not have the money or the flexibility to move funding around to adequately cover the costs of the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "There is a misperception that this department can continue funding our troops in the field for an indefinite period of time through accounting maneuvers,...

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates heads to Beijing on Saturday to air US misgivings about the direction China is taking with a military build-up. Gates, who also is scheduled to visit South Korea and Japan during the week-long trip, will meet with President Hu Jintao as well as China's other top military leaders during a two and half day stay in Beijing. The US side is hoping the Chinese will agree to establish a telephone hot line linking the Pentagon and Chinese defence ministry as a mark of improving security ties, a senior defence official said. But on his...

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Oct. 25, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M Gates urged European military leaders meeting here today to step up their countries’ contributions in Afghanistan and eliminate restrictions on their forces that threaten the mission’s success. The NATO alliance has made huge contributions leading the International Security Assistance Force, Gates told officers attending the 15th Conference of European Armies. U.S. Army Europe sponsors the annual ground-forces conference. He noted that NATO leads 25 provincial reconstruction teams that are helping the Afghans build infrastructure, while some allies are conducting decisive military actions that are thwarting Taliban efforts. Meanwhile, Gates said,...

Pentagon chief seeking plan to close Guantanamo Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:06pm EDT By Kristin Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday he wanted to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo but could not forge agreement inside the Bush administration. Gates said the Pentagon was still pushing the issue, but stumbling blocks remain, primarily over where al Qaeda and Taliban suspects would be held if not at the base in Cuba. "I was unable to achieve agreement within the executive branch on how to proceed," Gates told a U.S. Senate committee. "I have asked...

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Sept. 17, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presented his “realist’s view" of promoting democracy abroad during a speech delivered at the World Forum on the Future of Democracy here today. (Video) Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates speaks during the World Forum on the Future of Democracy in Williamsburg, Va., Sept. 17, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates said democratic reform takes time, and to abandon Iraq would be a setback for freedom and stability in the region, and it would not be in the United States’...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2007 – Failure in Iraq would empower extremists and have “enormous” consequences for the Middle East and the United States, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today during his appearance on two television news talk shows. Appearing on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Gates said the consequences of failure is a forgotten theme in Washington’s debate about Iraq. “No matter how you feel about how we got to where we are, the consequences of getting this wrong for Iraq, for the region, for us, are enormous,” he told said....